Palmetto GBA Selected as Subcontractor For CMS' Enterprise System Development Project

Columbia, S.C. - Palmetto GBA, a leading provider of technical and administrative services for the federal government, announced today it has been selected as a subcontractor as part of a contract awarded by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for information technology modernization.

Palmetto GBA is part of a team led by prime contractor Computer Sciences Corp. for the unrestricted portions of CMS' Enterprise System Development (ESD) contract, and part of a team led by prime contractor Quality Software Services Inc. for the portions of the contract reserved for small businesses. Palmetto GBA will provide technical and analytical services to both contractors.

CMS awarded the ESD contract to 16 prime contractors through the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracting vehicle, making those companies eligible to compete for work worth up to $4 billion over the next 10 years. "Palmetto GBA has served the Medicare program as a contractor since inception of the Medicare program in 1965, and we have worked together with CMS to implement many technological innovations," Palmetto GBA President Bruce Hughes said. "We look forward to expanding our role and helping CMS modernize its IT systems in anticipation of a dramatic increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries over the next couple of decades."

Under the ESD contract, CMS will award work to the contractors to acquire IT products and services, including software development and maintenance, systems maintenance, systems integration, and migration from legacy systems. The scope of work includes planning, design, development, testing, implementation, operations coordination and maintenance.

Overall goals of the modernization project include enhancing service to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and providers, improving health care quality and lowering costs.

Based in Columbia, S.C., Palmetto GBA is a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Palmetto GBA's principal business is providing administrative services for the Medicare health benefit program. Palmetto GBA and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.